Sir, - On 15th February Mary Dowey countered some unflattering commentary on the quality/ value of French wines by Kevin Myers and Oz Clarke (BBC). As someone who until recently was commercially involved in wine, I would like to comment from under a different hat, so to speak.
It appears to me that in the space of eight to ten years, the French have been outmanoeuvred by the New World in terms of production, marketing and distribution, especially in the £5 and under bracket where approximately 80 per cent of sales occur. Indeed the 1993 report commissioned by the Office Interprofessionel des Vins made some startling commentary on the evolution of their industry.
Amongst the points made were: (1) production segmented, providing too complex a range in the face of world demand. May I point out that there are 57 different appellations in the Bordeaux region alone! (2) Distribution channels fragmented, with too many small operators lacking the muscle to negotiate with powerful buyers. (3) Production costs as much as three times as high as international competitors.
As wine enters the mass-consumer market abroad, the French will surely have to rethink along the lines of what the market wants, rather than what their AC system has to offer. Appellation controlee, as any professional will confirm, is no guarantee of quality. As Jancis Robinson recently observed, even in top appellations "far too many mediocre producers are riding on the back of reputations won by others".
Equally, when one compares the average small size vineyard in France to the massive "ranches" in the New World, where available technology includes automatic planting, pruning, irrigation, harvesting backed up with computerised wineries, cheap land and a relatively disease free environment, the challenge to France is substantial. There is strong evidence, t9o, that the New World is well on its way to successfully challenging the French in the middle and higher levels, through correctly interpreting a certain taste transition or redefinition of "quality" by a new generation.
Finally, as a committed French wine drinker, I would say that knowing the "good guy" from the rogue producer, rather than the names of appellations such as Corbieres or Fitou, is the surest way to sweet satisfaction. - Yours, etc.,
Avoca Road,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.